30
Mystic Hollow Community Page
“I don’t know why we never thought to do this before,” Mom marvels as we stand in front of the restored Harold Croft monument in the center of the town square a short while later.
It’s close to dinnertime and dusk is settling over Mystic Hollow, giving the town the best of magical feels with a sky that is popping with autumnal colors.
“I can feel the magic here in a way I actually don’t in the house,” Mom continues. “You girls are right. This must be the point in town where magic is the strongest with Beatrice’s spell book here. It’s the beating heart of our town. With all this love for Mystic Hollow . . . it’s perfect.”
“It was Kat’s idea,” Harry says as she pulls her green sweater tightly around her body to block the breeze. “When she suggested it, I was like, how can I refuse when she’s so right?” Harry grins mischievously at me.
“Sweetheart, I’m so proud of you,” Mom says to me as Dad grabs a trowel and begins digging in the spot we told him to.
The aunts restored the base to its original design with one improvement—a panel that will pop out if we ever need to reach Beatrice’s spell book again.
I sink into her hug, happy for the praise, while my eyes are still on my sister. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without Harry.” The two of us wink.
It’s a perfect fall afternoon. The green is packed with people enjoying the weather, and that includes droves of tourists.
I’ve heard that the leaf-peeping tours have sold out for the rest of the year; the carnival has extended its stay, and lines snake all the way from the school parking lot to the green.
And Witches Brew has been a madhouse, so packed I haven’t even tried to set foot inside.
Well, that, and I’m scared of running into Zach.
I’m scared of how he’ll treat me, now that magic was fixed.
My sister undid her spell with help from the aunts, who are experts at undoing magic, and she told me she’s going to reach out to Jack and see if he remembers.
Now I’m not a boy magnet or completely invisible.
I’m just Kat.
And I’m looking forward to figuring out who that is—without boys.
“Hey, Kat!”
I look up and see Colton running by with some friends to play a game of flag football on the green.
“Hey, Kat!” the other guys say in unison.
“Hey!” I wave and smile. Do any of them remember being an army of Kat Hadley lovers? I’m not sure. The aunts claim when the magic boundaries were restored, all went back to the way it was. Well, except one thing.
“Girls? Was there always a monument to the Headless Horseman in the green?” Mom asks, walking a few feet away to marvel at the massive stone structure of the Horseman on a skeleton horse, his sword raised high, the horse rearing back on two legs, pawing the air.
“Yes,” we all agree at once.
“How do you not remember?” Aunt Viv asks. “It’s been there since 1645.”
“Really?” Mom frowns. “I guess I never walk through the green, just around it.”
“The knots are buried,” Dad says, wiping his hands. “Who wants to celebrate another successful Samhain with a coffee at Witches Brew?”
My stomach drops.
We walk over together; everyone in the family talking at once, giving their orders, and their preferences for caffeinated or decaffeinated beverages.
I can hear the pumpkin-carving tool revving from across the green.
There’s going to be no avoiding Zach, and I still feel a bit funny about our conversation last night.
Will he remember me saying I wanted to kiss him?
I feel a tingling and look up to see Harry staring at me intently. I’ve got you, she seems to say, and I wonder if that’s my magic coming in, if I’ll be able to hear her thoughts.
“Kat is going to get the orders, and we’re going to stay here and hang out by Beatrice’s spell book since she’s family,” Harry tells them, shepherding my parents back toward the monument.
Aunt Viv suddenly has a picnic blanket and a cheese board out of nowhere, and the group settles in as Harry squeezes my hand and whispers in my ear, “You’ve got this. ”
I cross the quad, watching the line of people outside Witches Brew as I approach.
It must be twenty people deep, but I’ve never had to wait in line here.
Standing there is torture; I have so much time to imagine how Zach will look at me, or how he won’t look at me.
When I make it to the coffee shop, my heart is beating in my chest as I try to think about what I’m going to say when I see Zach.
Instead, barking interrupts my thoughts, and the next thing I know, giant muddy paws are clawing at my skirt.
“Ronald Frederick!” I hear Laney command.
“Get down!” She rushes over and clips a leash onto him.
I see the black dog has a dog tag with his two names on it.
“Sorry, Kat. He was much better behaved as a boy,” she grumbles, though she’s petting his head.
“I still can’t believe I fell for him. I should have known when he tried to lick my face!
” I can’t help but giggle. “It’s not funny!
” Laney yells at me before she dissolves into laughter too.
“When am I going to meet a normal boy? Are there any that even exist in Mystic Hollow?”
I see Zach at the window out of the corner of my eye. “Normal is overrated.” I lean down and pat Ronald/Fred. “What’s with the collar? Did you adopt him?”
“Ugh, no,” Laney says, and brushes a strand of hair behind her right ear, revealing turkey dangling earrings. “Zach did, but he agreed I can take him on walks when Witches Brew is busy.” Laney smirks. “Did you know having a dog is a great way to meet boys?”
I laugh. “I didn’t.”
“Seriously, I’ve talked to three guys from school already that I’ve never spoken to before.”
“Since when were you so boy obsessed?” I ask Laney. “Let’s just enjoy being single. We have each other.”
Zach emerges from the side door of Witches Brew, carrying a tray of pumpkin spice lattes in pumpkins. When he sees me, my stomach starts doing that strange fluttering thing again and my magic tingles excitedly. Laney sees me and Zach looking at each other.
“You do have me. But that doesn’t mean you have to be single.”
“What?”
She smiles. “I’m going to take Ronald Frederick on his third walk of the afternoon. Text me later!” With that, Ronald takes off at a run, pulling Laney out to the green.
“Hey,” Zach says, putting the drinks down at a nearby table.
“Hey,” I manage. My palms are sweating, my fingers shaking.
My magic sweeps through me like a warm wave as he approaches.
Zach is way cuter than I ever gave him credit for.
Has any boy ever worn a Henley as well as he does?
Or had such full lips? Lips I want to kiss?
Say something, Kat, I think. “I . . .” I start to say, but there’s no need, because Zach says everything I need to hear.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said last night . . . about wanting to kiss me.”
“You have?” I say, my face burning as the speaker at the coffee shop seems to kick into overdrive, blasting a mellow Taylor Swift tune that is perfect for dusk and moonlit nights like this one is about to be.
In the distance, I think I hear a howl. Maybe it’s Ronald.
Maybe the werewolves are back. But at the moment, I don’t care.
“And what do you think about that?” I say breathlessly.
“I think it’s a really good idea,” Zach says as he wraps his arms around my waist and lifts me into the air before his lips are on mine. And it is pure magic.